Big Bro's Gun
by lyraspace
Summary: When a gang takes over Peach Creek, not even the Cul-de-sac kids know what to do. Hope comes in the form of Charlotte, the new girl, and her father, the new Police Chief. But will the Kankers ruin everything? And what does a box from Eddy's brother have to do with all this?
1. Bittersweet News

It had been quite a while since the Eds had gone to the candy store.

And it wasn't because they were in trouble.

In fact, all three of their lives had greatly improved as soon as they and the other children of the Cul-de-sac had returned home from Mondo a go-go. With the enormous boost in self-esteem and confidence due to the sudden alliance with the other children, Ed and Eddy's grades skyrocketed from the constant F's to B averages. The greatest thing to happen to them, in their perspective, was that the Kanker sisters stopped bothering them. Every now and then they would make little Jimmy cry, or steal Jonny's lunch money, but would not come within twenty feet of the three friends.

But why, despite all of the good things that had happened to them, did their parents forbid them to go to the candy store?

The Black Shades. That's what the police called them.

The Black Shades were a large group of teens that caused nothing but trouble. They suddenly appeared not long after the journey to Mondo a go-go. They would rob banks, sometimes people, and caused nothing but pain to the tiny town of Peach Creek. Over the next six months, the banks in town would be robbed twelve times each, and fourteen people had been killed. Their most noticeable feature, the police would say, was that a gang member would always wear black.

Due to the increasing amount of violence in town, the children of the Cul-de-sac feared for their safety, and spent a lot more time inside. Their most frequent activity together would be to congregate around Eddy's television and watch the news. This is what they were doing at that particular moment. They were currently watching an exclusive interview with the mayor of Peach Creek, who was currently crying his eyes out, begging for the gang to surrender to the authorities so that the town could return to its former glory. This was the moment that Eddy Skipper McGee knew that this was the last straw for him, and that something needed to be done about this gang.

"I HATE those stupid Black Shades!" He grumbled, "First we can't go to the candy store, then we can't go outside, and now they're making the mayor cry like a baby! What's next? Asking kids at school to join them?" The tallest Ed went pale at this. Eddy and the others quickly noticed. "What's with you, Lumpy?" Some color returned to the usually jolly Ed's face and he took a moment before answering.

"I-I think that last part is coming true, Eddy."

"What do you mean?" Eddy asked, with a growing fear inside of him. The last thing he wanted was the possibility of some teenagers coming to their school and asking him or his friends to join the town's biggest threat.

"Haven't you heard the rumors in Geography?" asked Double D, "They have spread to almost the entire campus."

"What is this rumor, Sock-Hat-Ed boy?" Rolf asked Double D, "Rolf would very much enjoy what this whole whisper fest is about." Double D's face went a little pale at this, and Eddy could tell the rumor wasn't good. But Double D quietly stood up, smoothed out his shirt, and turned to face everyone else.

"I'm afraid to say that…the Black Shades do have new members, and they come from…our school." Everyone but Eddy gasped in shock, for Eddy needed one more piece of information before he would start getting worried.

"…But who was stupid enough to join the Black Shades, Double D?" Double D turned pale again.

"I knew you would ask me that, Eddy. Those new members from school…are the Kanker sisters." Silence entered the room and stayed there for a long time.

"Breaking news," the reporter on television interrupted, catching everyone's attention, "The Chief of Police has announced that he is resigning from his position."

"_You have got to be kidding me." _Eddy thought.

"The Chief of Police will be replaced by Louis Rose of Lemon Brook effective April Second, which is next Saturday. And now to the Weather report." The silence of the children was finally broken by Kevin.

"I can't believe this. Now the Police Chief's quitting. I guess those Black Shades are scarier than we all thought."

"We have hope, at least." Eddy finally said after some thought.

"Huh?"

"That 'Louis Rose' guy better have a good plan to get rid of them."


	2. Surprising New Neighbors

April second came a lot more quickly than the children of the Cul-de-sac thought, for the sounds of a moving truck was the alarm clock for many of its inhabitants. While most of the children quickly got dressed to check what was going on outside, Double D was not quick to do so and instead followed his usual morning routine. But when he came downstairs for breakfast, he was surprised to find a store bought cake in the refrigerator, with a sticky note on the plastic case.

"_That's new,"_ Double D thought, "_I wonder what that sticky note says."_

"_Dear Eddward," _It read, "_Please deliver this cake I bought to the Rose family moving in down the street. If they invite you to come inside and eat some with them, go ahead, but brush your teeth afterwards. Love, Mother."_ Double D had to read the first sentence a second time to be sure if it was right.

"_If my logical reasoning is correct,"_ He thought, "_Then that new Police Chief from the news is moving in right down the street!"_ Double D gently picked up the cake, peeled the sticky note off the case, and ran outside to tell the others his discovery.

* * *

"Yum, Double D has cake!" Ed chucked as soon as he saw Double D come into view. He attempted to run up to his cake wielding friend to try to eat the sweet pastry, but was immediately stopped by Eddy before he could do so.

"That cake isn't for you!" He scolded, "It's for the new neighbors!"

"Thank you, Eddy," said Double D when he finally reached the others, "I think there is some information all of you should hear." The Cul-de-sac children gathered around the sock wearing Ed and pulled into a huddle. "The new Police Chief from the television is moving into the Cul-de-sac!"

Ed couldn't believe it. The hope everyone said Peach Creek needed was moving in right down the street! If he had kids, that meant more friends for the loveable oaf.

"_The last time I was this happy, it was when Mom gave me a Gravy cake for my birthday. Gravy…"_ Ed then started drooling because he didn't even bother to eat breakfast before going outside. The sudden voice of Jonny ceased Ed's short line of thought.

"What's that, Plank?" asked Jonny, holding said hunk of wood to his ear, "You know some things about the new neighbors?" Jonny nodded for about a minute. "Alright, Plank, I'll tell them." Jonny then cleared his throat for what seemed to be something important.

"The family's African American. The dad was the Police Chief of Chicago once, and-"

"Wait a second, baldy," Sarah interrupted, "What makes you think that Plank is even right?"

"Sorry to randomly enter your conversation," an unknown voice remarked, "but your little wood friend is telling the truth." Surprised at this voice, the entire group turned around and was shocked to find that Plank was right.

An African American girl stood before them, a little shorter than Double D, with dark brown eyes and a smug grin on her face. Slightly frizzy dreadlocks grew from the top of her head and just ended at her waist. She wore a red short sleeved dress that came to her shins, with matching sneakers.

One look and the kids of the Cul-de-sac knew that she would fit right in.

Suddenly remembering his mother's request, Double D ran up to the girl and held the cake out in front of him.

"On behalf of the children of the Cul-de-sac, we welcome you to Peach Creek!" He exclaimed with a smile, "My name is Eddward with two d's, so most people call me Double D."

"Hello friend!" laughed Ed, pulling the poor girl into a quick bear hug, "I am Ed!" Everyone else soon followed:

"The name's Eddy!"

"Hi, I'm Nazz."

"Kevin."

"Rolf, Son of a Shepard."

"My name's Sarah. Ed's my older brother."

"I'm Jimmy."

"I'm Jonny, and this is Plank." The girl took the cake from Double D and gave a huge smile.

"Nice to meet you all," she finally said, "My name's Charlotte."

"Now that we're all acquainted," said Eddy, "How about we all eat this cake at my place?" The group cheered, the new girl now known as Charlotte was hoisted up onto Ed's shoulders, and they all celebrated the arrival of the new girl as they marched on to Eddy's house.


	3. The Kankers

"Do not fret, Charlotte," said Double D, "The first day of school will be fun!"

As Double D was speaking, it was Monday again, meaning that the group was rolling their way to school on Rolf's wagon.

"It's not the fact that I'm going to a new school, Double D," sighed Charlotte, "It's the reason why I'm going to a new school, why I moved here. How bad is the situation in this town?"

"Pretty bad," said Kevin, "So bad that the old Police Chief quit, and they had to ask your dad to take his place."

"Hey Charlotte," said Eddy, "Let me give you a quick lesson: The Do's and Don'ts of the Black Shades. First off, their logo is a black scorpion. If you see that, then a Black Shade will most certainly be close by. They usually hang out in the shopping district and on Main Street, so don't go there alone. The third and most important thing: they will take anybody as a recruit, whether they want to or not. But don't worry too much, as long as you stick with us, you'll be just fine." By then, the wagon had just parked in front of the school. As the group climbed down from the wagon and walked towards the front doors of the building, Eddy stopped Charlotte before she could enter.

"I just remembered something else you should know," He said. Charlotte started to grow a little worried; this was the most serious face she had seen Eddy wear.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Whatever you do, stay away from the Kanker sisters."

* * *

The bases were loaded. Kevin, the player at home base, was ready for his move. There wasn't a cloud in the sky to be seen, and the wind was perfect for a home run.

In other words, it was the start of a perfect game of kickball.

Rolf, the pitcher, knew of his opponent's advantage with the weather, but he had the throwing ability. If he rolled the ball just right, Kevin would kick it a steady left, leaving it up to Sarah to catch the ball and declaring Kevin, his team's best player, out.

However, this particular roll was difficult, and there was a 50/50 chance this would not work. Rolf took a deep breath and took that chance, rolling the ball as hard as he could. Kevin kicked the ball with the skills of a pro, sending the ball high in the air. It went past Sarah and everyone else, as it eventually landed on the ground, and bounced to a stop on the back steps of the school.

"I'll get it!" declared Charlotte. She quickly jogged across the field and onto the school yard, finding the kickball on the side of the stairs. She picked up the ball and was about to return to the others when she noticed the wall in front of her. She gasped and dropped the ball in horror at what she saw.

A black scorpion, the very scorpion that Eddy had warned her about just that morning, adorned the wall in front of her.

"Like our little art project?" an unknown voice snickered. Surprised, Charlotte quickly turned around, but fell, then crawled until she leaned against the wall.

"It took us all of Gym to make it." Another voice said.

"Hey," a third said, "aren't you that new girl from Homeroom?" Unsure of how to get out of the situation, Charlotte nodded.

"My name's May!" the third voice said. That was when the three figures took a step forward and Charlotte was able to get a good look at her opponents.

"The name's Marie," The girl with the second voice said, "Don't forget it." The girl presumed to be the leader walked all the way to where Charlotte sat, then leaned forward until her face was mere inches from Charlotte's. Her cold black eyes were barely visible through her curly red hair.

"My name is Lee," she said with an evil smirk, "We're the Kanker sisters." The girl named Marie came up to Charlotte and held her by the collar of her dress. She found it hard to breathe.

"You, my little friend, are trespassing." She scowled, grip tightening on Charlotte's collar.

"P-Please don't hurt m-me." Charlotte cried, tears now streaming down her face. May and Lee grinned evil smiles.

"Too bad," Lee laughed, "Prepare for a world of-"

Lee never got to finish. The kickball suddenly flew through the air, hitting her square in the face. She stumbled before falling face down to the cement. Marie let go of Charlotte to tend to a hurt Lee, and all could hear Eddy's laughter in the air.

"You miscreants leave Charlotte alone!" Double D shouted. Ed only stood there, his face still filled with fury from when he threw the kickball, but his loveable smile returned as soon as he saw that Charlotte was okay. The Kankers, shocked that the Eds had arrived, picked up Lee and ran away as fast as they could. As soon as that happened all three Eds rushed to Charlotte's side.

"Charlotte, are you alright?!" Double D asked, still a bit shaken from the whole ordeal. He then proceeded to dust off the dirt from her dress.

"I-I'm fine, Double D," Charlotte muttered, still a bit shaken herself, "You guys saved me."

"We came to see what was taking you so long," Eddy explained, "It's a good thing we showed up when we did."

"GOOD LORD!" Double D screeched, acknowledging the scorpion spray-painted on the wall, "The Kankers have vandalized the sanctuary of knowledge!" Eddy looked at the graffiti with solemn eyes, but a smile still remained on his face.

"Don't get your hat in a knot, Double D," he said, "We can always get them suspended for this."

"Sub-Pension?" Ed asked, his mind not familiar to the word.

"Suspension, Ed," Charlotte corrected, "It means that if we tell a teacher about this graffiti, they'll kick the Kankers out of school for a couple days." Ed smiled from ear to ear and grabbed all of his friends into one of his famous bear hugs.

"Oh happy days!" Ed shouted with glee, "We shall be free from the Kankers!" All four friends could do nothing but laugh after that, for something like suspending the Kankers was something good in their lives after a storm of oppression and grief.


	4. Bravery of a Brother

As Sarah Gray awoke in her bed, she felt a thirst that had to be quenched. She quietly shuffled out of bed and entered the hallway from her open door. As she tiptoed down the stairs, she could just hear the snore of Ed in the basement.

Opening the refrigerator door, Sarah heard something crash and break. She quickly walked out of the kitchen to see what it was. Her first guess was Ed, but he stopped sleepwalking months ago.

Maybe it was her father, Mr. Gray, sneaking around for a midnight snack when he shouldn't.

"_That's' stupid,_" Sarah thought, "_Dad won't wake up for anything, even if it is food._" She walked further into the living room, careful not to step on any of the broken things, and called out once.

"Hello?" A shadow moved in response. Sarah jumped back in surprise.

She was being watched.

"Ed, is that you?" Sarah asked into the room.

"Ed?" a voice that was clearly not Ed called out, "Who the heck is Ed?" Frightened for her life, Sarah made a mad dash for the basement stairs. She fell and tried crawling for the doorknob. She could barely scream before the shadow was upon her.

* * *

Ed awoke with a start. He had that crawly feeling in his stomach again.

Either he was hungry, or something was terribly wrong.

Ed listened carefully, for any sounds from upstairs. There was what seemed to be a struggle ensuing in the living room, along with muffled screaming.

Sarah's muffled screaming. She was in trouble.

Ed leapt out of his bed, grabbing Baron O' Beef dip while doing so, and raced upstairs with breakneck speed. What he saw after he burst through the door was something that would be etched in his mind for a long time to come.

Sarah lay in a heap on the floor, unconscious, bleeding, and defeated. The Intruder stood over her, as if preparing for a final blow. A seething fury erupted within Ed. He held the monster figurine in front of him, aimed at his opponent and shouted,

"GET AWAY FROM MY BABY SISTER, YOU SLIMY MOLE MUTANT!" The Intruder took one look at Ed and his monster toy and laughed.

"Really?" he snickered, "A monster figurine?" The Intruder laughed some more. "What's it going to do, bite me to death?" Ed said nothing, taking the end of the string attached to Baron O' Beef dip's back and pulling it as far as it would go.

"Don't make me use this," hissed Ed, "Or you're in for a world of hurt, Mister." The Intruder laughed at the top of his lungs.

"You know what, kid? You impress me," he scoffed, "Maybe as soon as I'm done with your stupid little sister, I can see if you're as weak as her." This infuriated Ed, and he yelled in fury, prepared for the final stand that was about to occur.

And that was when he let go of the string.

* * *

Peach Creek General Hospital bustled with activity, even at one a.m. But on this particular night, three children clad in their pajamas, closely followed by their parents, were the odd ones out.

"For the last time lady," a very grouchy and worried Eddy yelled, "Where is my friend and his little sister?!"

"Quiet Eddy," Double D calmed his friend, "There are other patients in this hospital, and they need rest."

"I don't care about everyone else, Sock head," Eddy hissed, "I only care about Ed and Sarah!"

"Well you're not getting your answer that way, Eddy," Charlotte interjected, "Let Double D's parents try. They work here anyway." After that problem was resolved, the group was soon led to a quiet waiting room in a different corridor of the hospital.

The children found Ed in one of the chairs, wearing nothing but his blue pajamas and his old green jacket, wet from the tears he was wiping from his face. While the parents grouped together to have a discussion on the current emergency, the three friends went to join Ed's side.

"We came as soon as we heard," said Double D, "Are you alright?!" The tallest Ed stayed deathly silent, only shaking his head no as a response.

"Do you want us to sit with you for a while?" Charlotte asked Ed. After a simple nod, they obeyed his wishes then decided to eavesdrop on their parents.

"…when we found them," sighed Mr. Gray, just finishing the story of what happened, "Ed was holding Sarah and the guy who broke in was writhing in pain."

"It took us six boats of gravy to get Ed to calm down," added Mrs. Gray, "The poor thing."

"What of the Intruder?" asked Mrs. Rose. Both of the Grays went white.

"We could barely get anything out of Ed, except that he used that old monster toy of his to burn him," said Mr. Gray, "but that does make sense now due to the fact that the guy had third degree burns over 40 percent of his body."

"Thank goodness Ed saved Sarah when he did," Mrs. Gray sighed, "because the authorities told us that the man who broke in was…a Black Shade."

Pure shock entered the children's minds as they learned of this news. After staring blankly at the adults, Eddy then turned to Ed, wide eyed and overwhelmed. To his surprise, Ed was gone. He looked up and down the hallway to see if he had wandered anywhere, but to no avail.

"Double D, I can't find Ed." Eddy whispered. After looking up and down the hall himself Double D started to grow worried.

"But where could he have wandered off to?" Double D fretted, pacing back and forth down the hall, "in his distressed state of mind, he could be anywhere by now!"

"Maybe he went into Sarah's room while we weren't looking." mused Charlotte. The three friends walked to the door of the room, and when they peeked in, they could do nothing but smile.

Although Sarah had to go to the hospital for her injuries, it wasn't as bad as the adults described it out to be. A few bandages covered her arms, while a few bruises covered her face, but she peacefully slept like an angel.

In other words, she would be just fine.

That was no excuse for her older brother.

Ed also lay in her bed, with his arms curled around her sleeping frame, protecting her from the dangers of the night. Sarah made no protest of this, but only accepted Ed as something safe and warm, and a sanctuary from all of the horrible things that had occurred only earlier that night.

Finally, after a night of horror, peace.


	5. Secrets Under the Bed

It was pure torture to not have anything to do.

With Double D with his parents down at the hospital, Ed too busy taking care of Sarah, Charlotte at her grandmother's, and everyone else too busy with their own business, there was no one for Eddy to hang out with.

Eddy's mother had nagged him for a week to clean out under his bed, and just so that he wouldn't hear it anymore, he decided to do just that. There was nothing better to do anyway.

Lazily rolling off his bed, Eddy then got to work. Useless and broken things went in the garbage, things he had lost were placed where they truly belonged, and things so old he forgot about them he put on the bed for him to organize later.

Among one of those old things, was a dusty shoebox.

Putting the other ancient artifacts to the side, Eddy sat on his bed and brushed the dust off the lid to get a better look at it.

A frown grew on his face as he read the writing on the box. The penmanship was instantly recognizable, right down to how the "b's" were written.

Big Bro. Just when Eddy was starting to forget about him.

Expecting more baby toys as a prank that was never pulled, Eddy lazily lifted the lid from the shoebox, hoping for the usual.

The lid dropped to the floor, in the wake of Eddy's horror of what was really in the box.

Double D needed to know about this. Now.

* * *

Double D, Ed, and Charlotte all sat with Eddy in a circle. All three had concerned looks, for Eddy had frantically called them during their busy day, and they had gone straight to his house as soon as they were done.

Eddy, however, wasn't looking too good, and it had appeared as if he had seen a ghost. Sweating profusely, he set the shoebox from his lap and into the middle of the circle. Double D started to get nervous. Throughout their long friendship, Eddy had never been this nervous over the contents of something so ordinary.

That was before he saw what was written on it.

Double D had been there the day Big Bro sent baby stuff to the short Ed in the mail. He even remembered the whole adventure they went through that afternoon just to prove that Eddy was a young adult that demanded respect. But something was wrong here.

If it was baby stuff, Eddy wouldn't be looking this scared. He wouldn't have called his three closest friends over.

That shoebox would have been in the garbage. This was no baby stuff.

Double D snapped back into reality by Eddy's sudden movement. His hands were gripped on the lid, ready to lift it off.

Eddy hesitated. He took a breath before removing the lid from the box and revealing why he had been so worried. And his friends couldn't blame him at all.

Carefully wrapped in an old raggedy cloth, was a gun.

A dark, tension filled silence filled the room for a long, long time.

After what seemed like an eternity, Charlotte broke the quiet tension.

"What do we do now?"

* * *

After much discussion, it was decided that Eddy would keep the gun hidden until the summer, when they would toss it into the junkyard, and forget it even existed.

Their parents would never have a clue.

Even with the foolproof plan, and his friends' numerous words of assurance, Eddy still found it hard to sleep that night.

It would stay that way until the last week of May.


End file.
